Dukes 5-1 overall to start season
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
The York boys basketball team moved to 5-1 overall after opening West Suburban Conference Silver Division action with a 61-37 win against Glenbard West and then defeating East Aurora 60-52 in non-conference play.
Earlier, the Dukes advanced to the Palatine tournament title game and finished with a 3-1 mark, losing only to Stevenson in the finale.
At Palatine, York was a 55-45 winner against Rolling Meadows. York led 7-4 after the first quarter and 26-20 at halftime. The Dukes pulled away with a 19-9 third-quarter run and then withstood a Rolling Meadows 16-10 run in the final quarter.
Nick Kosich led the Dukes with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He hit three 3-pointers. Sophomore Nate Shockey had 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Angelo Martucci had 11 points and four assists, while Erik Cohn was one point shy of giving York four players in double figures in scoring. He finished with nine points and five rebounds and hit a 3-pointer. John Milling pulled in seven rebounds.
York shot 46.7 percent from the field and hit 6 of its 7 free-throw attempts. Rolling Meadows was limited to 38.6 percent shooting from the field.
York then downed Maine West 67-52. The Dukes led only 15-11 after the first quarter but used a 27-10 second quarter to put distance between them and their opponent.
Cohn paced the Dukes with 19 points, eight rebounds and three steals. He hit two 3-pointers. Kosich had 11 points and four steals and also hit two 3-pointers. Martucci had 11 points and five rebounds. Freshman Jeff Grace finished with eight points. Milling also hit a 3-pointer.
York had 16 steals as a team and forced Maine West into 30 turnovers, while committing 23 itself. The Dukes shot 40 percent from the field and hit 26 of 34 free-throw attempts (76.5 percent).
The Dukes went to overtime and scored a 44-40 win against Algonquin Jacobs. After a 6-6 stalemate in the first quarter, the Dukes found themselves behind 19-15 at halftime and 21-19 after three quarters. York outscored Jacobs 15-13 in the fourth quarter to force the extra session where it held a 10-6 edge.
Kosich had 15 points and seven rebounds to lead the Dukes. Shockey finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Martucci had nine points. Kosich made two 3-pointers, while Shockey and Cohn each hit one 3-pointer.
York shot 31 percent from the field, but hit 14 of 19 free-throw attempts (73.7 percent). Jacobs shot 33.3 percent from the floor.
In the title game at Palatine, York lost 63-52 to Stevenson. Stevenson led 21-18 after the first quarter and 34-32 at halftime.
The Patriots outscored York 16-14 in the third quarter and 13-7 in the fourth. Kosich led the Dukes with 13 points and four rebounds. Mike Pedote added 10 points, while Martucci had nine points and four rebounds. Cohn also had nine points and Milling pulled in five rebounds.
York shot 33.3 percent from the field and hit 8 of 11 free-throw attempts (72.7 percent). Stevenson shot 55.9 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the foul line.
Through four games, Kosich was leading the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game. Cohn was next at 10.5 points, while Martucci was third on the team at 10.0. Shockey was fourth at 7.3 points.
Kosich was tops in rebounding at 5.5 per game. Milling was second at 4.8, while Cohn was at 3.5 and Martucci was averaging 3.3 rebounds per contest.
Kosich was tops on the team in assists with eight. He also was tied for the team lead in steals with Martucci and Cohn with seven each.
Milling was leading the team in charges taken with two, while Shockey, Nate Lyons and Pedote each had one charge taken.
Kosich was leading the team in 3-pointers made with 10 (28 attempts). Cohn had six 3s, while Shockey had made five of his first 11 threes.
Martucci was tops on the team in free-throw shooting, making 16 of 18 attempts (88.9 percent). Cohn was 8-for-9 from the line in the first four games.
As a team through four games, York was shooting 37.7 percent from the field, but 76.1 percent from the free-throw line (54 of 71). Opponents were shooting 41.6 percent. As a team, York forced 74 turnovers, while committing 58 through the first four contests.
